Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) Shares Sold by New England Research & Management Inc.

New England Research & Management Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Kimberly-Clark Co. (NYSE:KMB) by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. Kimberly-Clark makes up 1.9% of New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. New England Research & Management Inc.’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $3,246,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Lincoln National Corp raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 0.8% during the first quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 9,554 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,282,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 3.6% during the first quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 2,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Country Club Bank GFN raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.5% during the first quarter. Country Club Bank GFN now owns 5,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.0% during the first quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 7,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,069,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC raised its stake in Kimberly-Clark by 1.2% during the first quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 6,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $863,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 74.38% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on KMB. Barclays boosted their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $137.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. TheStreet cut Kimberly-Clark from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 25th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $145.00 to $138.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. StockNews.com began coverage on Kimberly-Clark in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $126.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $135.33.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Up 0.3 %

KMB stock traded up $0.41 during trading on Thursday, hitting $125.40. The company had a trading volume of 50,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,685,159. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 12.21. Kimberly-Clark Co. has a one year low of $108.74 and a one year high of $147.87. The business has a 50-day moving average of $130.10 and a 200-day moving average of $133.81. The stock has a market cap of $42.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.77, a PEG ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.39.

Kimberly-Clark (NYSE:KMB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 25th. The company reported $1.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.17. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 303.40% and a net margin of 8.07%. The company had revenue of $5.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.13 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.34 earnings per share. Kimberly-Clark’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Kimberly-Clark Co. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, September 8th will be given a $1.18 dividend. This represents a $4.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 7th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is currently 97.32%.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, insider Sandra R. Karrmann sold 5,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.80, for a total value of $664,835.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $808,394.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Sandra R. Karrmann sold 5,122 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.80, for a total value of $664,835.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 6,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $808,394.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jeffrey P. Melucci sold 4,423 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.23, for a total value of $576,007.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 28,169 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,668,448.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.67% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and markets personal care and consumer tissue products worldwide. It operates through three segments: Personal Care, Consumer Tissue, and K-C Professional. The company's Personal Care segment offers disposable diapers, training and youth pants, swimpants, baby wipes, feminine and incontinence care products, reusable underwear, and other related products under the Huggies, Pull-Ups, Little Swimmers, GoodNites, DryNites, Sweety, Kotex, U by Kotex, Intimus, Thinx, Poise, Depend, Plenitud, Softex, and other brand names.